Chapter 684: Chapter 683: Brothers, to the Bathroom!
But the main referee shook his head.
"Sorry, I really couldn’t see it."
And... are you sure you didn’t make any movement with your hand?
The main referee believed it was a normal clash, Campbell lost because he couldn’t keep up the speed, and was outskilled.
Campbell felt especially aggrieved.
After this goal, Manchester City decisively started to make substitutions.
Some people actually didn’t understand this move.
Because if you’ve scored, it means your current lineup is working fine.
So why make substitutions?
Manchester City quickly showed everyone why with their actions.
Lahm replaced Ashley Young.
Maicon replaced Sun Jihai.
Yaya Toure replaced David Silva.
Brothers!
Bring out the heavy artillery!
Seeing these three players, Manchester City’s fans were clearly excited.
Although Manchester City claims to have twenty first-team level players,
everyone knows that the starting eleven in the league and the Union of European Football Associations Cup are their real main force.
And these three are from that main force.
In fact, although Manchester City kept saying they wanted to give most of their English League Cup and even the Football Association Cup matches to this young reserve team,
they had made extra preparations for this crucial battle.
Today, their bench was filled with five first-team players.
Their arrival was clearly not just for show.
Manchester City had long been prepared to go head-to-head with Arsenal.
And... Manchester City’s next offensive wave could easily be imagined.
This season, the Premier League had two side-back pairings that struck fear into the hearts of the opposition.
One was Arsenal’s flying wings, Ashley Cole + Wu Xudong.
The other was Manchester City’s flying wings, Lahm + Maicon!
These were the two strongest attacking pairs of wings in the Premier League.
And now, they were set to take flight!
In midfield, Yaya Toure took to the field.
With Sun Jihai’s departure, the China Derby ended.
But the Toure brothers’ derby began anew.
If Vieira + Gilberto Silva’s double pivot were unparalleled in defense,
Mascherano + Yaya Toure + Fabregas as a trio also had a certain dominance in both attack and defense.
Especially Yaya Toure, whom the European media generally believed that apart from Deng Kai, Yaya Toure could replace any midfielder in the world.
No matter if it’s Deco, Ronaldinho or Kaka; no matter if it’s Lampard, Gerard, or Vieira.
Any player better at attacking than Toure was basically inferior to Toure in all other aspects.
Any player better at defending than Toure was essentially inferior to Toure in all other aspects.
Any player better at organizing than Toure was fundamentally inferior to Toure in all other aspects.
He was a super hexagonal midfielder!
After two or three years of honing, this season Toure was rising as a top star with the unbeaten Manchester City!
In the seventy-seventh minute,
Toure clashed with Vieira in midfield.
The confrontation between the two powerhouse players was truly a physical battle.
In the end, Deng Kai also rushed over and snatched the football away.
Gilberto Silva chased after Deng Kai and went in hard for the tackle.
Deng Kai dribbled laterally, eluding the pursuit, and carried the ball to the flank.
Pires came over to press.
Seizing the opportunity of Pires’s press, Deng Kai simply pushed the ball past Pires and then, with full speed, crossed over and left Pires behind.
Pires was shocked.
Could that damn Deng Kai run this fast?
With the same yellow skin, could it really be Wu Xudong’s spirit taking over?
This was the downside of surrounding.
One-on-one, Gilberto Silva actually had a hope of sticking with Deng Kai continuously.
But with Pires coming over for the double team, Gilberto Silva had to clear an area of defense for Pires.
However, Pires’ defensive ability was not strong.
Deng Kai’s breakthrough from Pires’ side was much easier.
And he shook off two players in one breath.
Arsenal’s defensive line was thus challenged.
Ashley Cole and Deng Kai faced off.
Deng Kai performed a series of stepovers at his feet.
Bang!
As Maicon overlapped beside Deng Kai, Deng Kai completed a through pass.
The football went through along with Maicon, piercing through Ashley Cole.
Even though Ashley Cole was very agile at his feet, he turned around instantly to chase Maicon.
But Maicon was not Sun Jihai; he was also a top-tier speed player.
Ashley Cole couldn’t catch up at all for a while.
Just as Maicon looked set to cross the ball,
Ashley Cole made a risky, diving effort to block the ball with his leg.
However, Maicon’s right foot did indeed touch the football, but the ball did not take flight.
This wasn’t a cross.
It was a cutback pass.
Perfectly avoiding Ashley Cole’s defense.
Deng Kai, who had just delivered the through pass, followed up and ran to the right side of the penalty area.
As he arrived, Maicon’s cutback pass also reached.
Deng Kai swung his leg in place.
He completely faked out all the Arsenal defenders.
Bang!
Deng Kai nudged the ball forward a step, and then with his right foot at full power, he delivered a ferocious cross.
The football passed in front of Campbell and hit Kolo Toure’s foot, deflecting into the Arsenal goal.
Own goal!
"Wow! Three to three!"
"Deng Kai’s cross caused Kolo Toure’s own goal!"
"That cross was so fierce! The speed was too fast! Campbell didn’t even have a chance to kick, and Kolo Toure had no chance to dodge!"
"I seriously doubt that was an own goal! If you tell me it was designed by Deng Kai, I’d believe it!"
"I strongly suggest the organizers count that as an assist by Deng Kai, it’s just too brilliant!"
Too fast!
Deng Kai was too fast!
Maicon was too fast!
Deng Kai’s pass was also fast!
Arsenal was completely stunned by the goal.
Having played close to eighty minutes, the score was three to three, as if nothing had happened.
But on some faces, cold sweat began to emerge.
Arsenal was clearly struggling to cope.
Because although their left and right wingers, Pires and Ljungberg, and even forward Reyes were not slow,
they were different from having speed like Deng Kai.
When Deng Kai lacked speed, he was already nearly impossible to defend against.
Now that he had speed, he dominated the attacking front on the field.
To cope with Deng Kai, Arsenal’s wingers had to drop back to help the team.
Only with a sufficient number of players could they feel a bit of safety.
But when your defense needs numbers to feel safe, it already means your defense has lost its protective function.
The eighty-third minute.
Lahm advanced with the ball on the left flank, then passed the football to Deng Kai.
After receiving the ball, Deng Kai performed a feint that nearly caused Ljungberg to stumble.
But Deng Kai didn’t move from his spot, passing the ball back to Fabregas who had come up.
Fabregas delivered a 45-degree cross to find Torres.
Kolo Toure marked Torres closely to clear the ball, avoiding another mistake.
Manchester City earned a corner.
Then, Deng Kai took the corner kick.
Thiago Silva’s header went towards goal, hitting the crossbar.
Missing the chance to take the lead for his team.
